Think about your rental property investment as a business. What do you envision for the future of that business?

If you’ve read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Dr. Stephen Covey, you’re familiar with the second habit: Begin with the end in mind.

Adopting this habit means defining your success and creating a plan to achieve it. Use your dreams to develop rental property investment business goals and a timeline, then create a property investment strategy to get you there.

Here are three tasks to help you develop your strategy.

 

Step 1: Begin with the end in mind

Keeping focused on your goal helps avoid distractions and gives you the motivation to keep going, even when faced with setbacks. Challenges come, but with clear goals, you can navigate temporary difficulties and stay on track to achieve success.

One of the best things you can do to achieve rental property investment success is to identify what you want to achieve, then work backwards to create the roadmap to get there. This step is all about setting your “big picture” goals—identifying why you’re investing in real estate.

Here are some potential goals, organized by category, to get you started:

Prepare for the future

• • I want to help revitalize neighborhoods by fixing up properties and providing affordable housing.

• • I want to increase my net worth so I can leave a larger inheritance to my children.

Increase investment

• • I want to capitalize on predicted upticks in the real estate market.

• • I want to rehab my existing properties to bring in more income per unit and increase property value.

• • I want to invest in small, multi-family properties (duplexes, 4-plexes), so I can make more rent per purchased property.

• • I want to diversify my portfolio to decrease risk and increase cash flow.

Increase current cash flow

• • I want to put my money in a low-risk, high-return rental property investment to increase my net worth.

• • I want a source of monthly cash flow that will supplement my current income.

Create passive income

• • I want to quit my job and live on the income from my rental properties.

• • I want tenants to pay for my real estate investments so I can cash out on them when I retire.

 

Step 2: Envision what each rental property investment can do for you

What do you want from your real estate investment? What’s your timeline? Do you have an exit strategy?

No matter where you are in the investing experience, take some time to envision what each property investment contributes to your Step 1 goal(s). These interim, property-based goals should get you closer to big goal success.

Invest some time today to think about your property-specific goals, then write them down. Research shows those who take the time to write out their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve them.

Now that you’ve identified your specific property goals, it’s time to connect with a property investment and management expert to guide you toward long-term success.

 

Step 3: Make your rental property investment goals a reality

Now that you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to make them a reality. My Real Estate Property Management offers the investment services you need to design and implement the right strategies for your specific rental property investment business goals. We’ll work with you to make sure your investment plan serves your goals, both short-term and long-term.

Schedule a consultation and let’s talk about your business goals, strategic investing plan, and how our team can help you make your investment dreams a reality.